Legends to take the field for good cause

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More than 80 former NRL players and three referees will come out of retirement in November to take part in a Legends of League tournament at Central Coast Stadium, in partnership with the Mark Hughes Foundation.

Five clubs in the NRL Telstra Premiership will be represented with ex-legends from Brisbane, Canterbury, Newcastle, Manly and Parramatta featuring in the nine-a-side event on November 18.

A sixth team of Barbarians will consist of former greats from remaining clubs with a $75,000 prize for the winning squad.

Squads will be split into two pools with the top two sides in each advancing into the semi finals, while the matches will be officiated by former whistle-blowers Bill Harrigan, Steve Clark and Sean Hampstead.

Brisbane have named a strong 14-man squad with enforcer Gorden Tallis set to make a return to the paddock alongside premiership-winners Lote Tuqiri, Wendell Sailor and Shaun Berrigan.

The Bulldogs will be captained by former back-rower Andrew Ryan, with crowd favourite Willie Mason snubbing Newcastle colours to return for the blue and white next to Reni Maitua and Mark O'Meley.

Former Manly skipper Steve Menzies will lead a Sea Eagles line-up that consists of names like Cliff Lyons, Steve Bell, Craig Hancock and Solomon Haumono.

Newcastle have put together a decent squad led by Danny Buderus and recently retired pair Kurt Gidley and Jeremy Smith. While the line-up features no Johns brothers, 1997 premiership-winning pair Robbie O'Davis and Owen Craigie are included.

Parramatta's 14-man side have a dominant early 2000s feel to it with Luke Burt set to captain a side that features Nathan and Ian Hindmarsh, Dean Widders, Brad Drew and PJ Marsh.

The Barbarians will be led by former Storm and Rabbitohs outside back Matt King, with an impressive list of names including Matt Geyer, Michael Crocker, Craig Gower, Tim Brasher and Amos Roberts.

With a double-header World Cup quarter-final scheduled in New Zealand on the same day, rugby league fans are able to experience the best of both worlds and catch some of the greats of our game in a rare opportunity in the summer.